bloodstainedbible

[polariscroquis]

"Old One, Master, all beauty lies within you"

He needed a royal portrait and I regret nothing. Going overboard with details and taking forever to finish? Check.

I now do not know which song I'll do next. Maybe Cirice? Absolution? Year Zero? Nocturnal Me? MISSIONARY MAN???

(I think you guys can see I might just have had an a-ha moment of which one will be next)

----

I'm very bad at self-promotion, so I'll just leave some links below where you can support my work if you feel like it! "^^

Youtube | Ko-Fi | Webtoon

[as-kind-as-summer]

I finally have a minute to sit down so I'm going to yell about the Lord of the Rings musical for a bit! I'll put everything under a cut so people can avoid spoilers! Pic of me in my cute hobbit-ish outfit first 😊

So disclaimer first, hopefully I'm remembering everything correctly but I recently started a new job and can't take any days off in my first 90 days but desperately wanted to see this show. So I worked a night shift, drove 6 hours, and by the time everything was over I'd been awake for ~21 hours. And also everyone who knows anything about this show is long. Like we were sitting in act 2 and I couldn't remember if they'd sang The Road Goes On in act 1 because it had been two hours ago by that point 😂All this to say, if I misremember please forgive me and feel free to correct me!

My friend and I had the most amazing seats for this show! I'd been debating whether or not I wanted to go through the trouble of going to see it with work and all but then I got an email because apparently I'd signed up for the Shakespeare Theatre's 30 under 30 program and that made everything worth it. I'll post a picture below but we sat second row in the center section on the end of the stage right side. In the picture you can see the stairs literally came down about six inches in front of my feet. I'm not usually a fan of sitting so close but with how immersive the show was it was perfect.

(Obligatory photo with the playbill because I will always be a theatre nerd at heart)

Starting at ~15 til, the actors all started coming out and wandering the audience, just talking to people and having a good ol' time. Again I'm such a sucker for immersive performances and despite being terribly awkward this was still very exciting.

With everyone wandering around and then the show just sort of starting with no big to-do, it really felt like you're a part of the story. Like 'oh I really am here at Bilbo's birthday party.' Again just a really good time, I think it added another really great layer to the show.

I know I just keep saying how fun this show looked but honestly it looks like such a great time and like every single actor on stage is having the best time. The choreography isn't anything terribly complicated but it just looks fun. Also we saw this on a Wednesday at the evening performance which means there would've been a matinee earlier and you never would've been able to tell. I've seen shows where you can tell the actors are going through it during their second show of the day(and rightfully so) but I wouldn't have had a clue if I hadn't known the schedule. Really just such an amazing cast.

The puppetry was phenomenal! I'm not typically freaked out by puppetry but I had a visceral reaction to those Nazgul puppets. Don't know what it was about them but I was legitimately unnerved. One came up next to me and I did not care for it at all. Pretty sure the people behind me were chuckling every time I cringed but like honestly so fair 😂

So I only found out about the existence of this musical in June and it was absolutely my accident. After seeing the trilogy in theaters, I fell back in hard and was just like 'huh I wonder if there's a stage version of this if not there should be' and googled it on a whim. Pretty much been listening to the London soundtrack on repeat since then but there were a lot of songs that I felt very eh about on the soundtrack that are loads better within the context of the show. Like a lot of the Elvish acapella songs being actually just background to the action that happened onstage felt a lot more natural than listening to them on their own.

Speaking of songs I liked more, Lament for Moria was absolutely beautiful. I hate to compare casts because I think every actor brings their own unique take to the role but that was just a song that I wasn't terribly fond of on the London soundtrack. But the actor that played Gimli in this version had an absolutely gorgeous voice. I was telling someone I always assume actors in a show will be able to sing because obviously they've been cast but there are still times where someone opens their mouth and I'm stunned and this was one of them.

I really enjoyed the set design a lot. I love the current trend of having a simple versatile set with smaller pieces that are wheeled on from time to time. Also, such a sucker for turntables and platforms. I don't know what it is but I think it's A+. Also the climbing wall grips in the back so Gollum could climb up and down were fantastic! Such a simple solution but I think it worked so well. I could see them since we were so close but the way they were painted, I'm guessing they blended in really well further back and the effect would've been amazing.

Obviously even at nearly 3 hours long this is still a wildly condensed version of these stories but I was still disappointed that almost all of Two Towers was cut out other than Treebeard. This of course isn't unique to this production, just the way it's written. I don't think it necessarily detracted from the story since most of the action and important bits do take place in Fellowship and Return of the King but Two Towers is still my favorite so this is a personal gripe mostly haha.

The costumes were all great, a lot of it felt sort of generic fantasy-ish but I love generic fantasy-ish costumes so I was happy. However, I thought the orcs costumes were so cool! Especially with the new(? I'll be honest with y'all I have not read the books(yet) and I feel like I heard about this being the ending somewhere. Not sure if they changed it for the movies and the ending of the musical is the actual ending? anyway) ending they were very neat!

I'm also such a sucker for instruments being played onstage especially when it's the actors doing it and especially when a lot of them are playing multiple different instruments. I just will never get over the talent.

I think I've said most of what I wanted to say so I have to talk about Now and For Always. Since my first listen, Now and For Always was my absolute favorite song. Like hyperfixated listening for hours on end kind of favorite song. I just think it's so beautiful, the harmonies are gorgeous, and it really embodies what these stories were about. I saw the snippet Chicago Shakespeare posted before I went and I was iffy about if I'd like it. I could not have been more wrong. The way it was so slowed down, having the rest of the cast standing around Sam and Frodo, the delivery of the last verse from Frodo to a sleeping Sam? I'm tearing up just thinking about it again. Like that's what it's all about, you know? The tenderness and kindness in the midst of horrors. The true power that friendship has to carry you through the absolute worst of things. I don't even have more words, it was just such a beautiful and touching presentation and it's going to stay with me for a very long time.

Oh no wait I did have one more thing to say, they tried to make me like Denethor and no one will ever make me like Denethor! Denethor hater for life, all my homies hate Denethor. I'm sorry, I know they used the explanation of 'he's too close too Mordor it's poisoning his mind' nope don't care. The best thing Denethor did was set himself on fire, change my mind.

All this to say, I had the most amazing time and I am forever grateful I found this production when I did and had the chance to go see it. I don't think it's for everyone, as like 'duh obviously' as it sounds I think you really have to enjoy both LotR and theatre. The people behind us were snickering from time to time because there were some things that were kind of goofy. Most of it was at the weapons, they're definitely on the cheaper side but it's a regional theatre and I'm sure they only had so much budget. You have to be able to suspend your disbelief when seeing any show but especially this one. Forget what you know from the books and the movies and just go in with an open mind. It's a spectacle, it's goofy, it's serious, it will absolutely wrench your heartstrings if you just let yourself be open to it. Everyone is obviously so passionate about what they're doing and it made for such an amazing show, highly recommend to go see it if you get the chance 💜

[ineffablenlghtingales]

Crowley and that beard. Hm not my favorite look, I'll have to say, but it's him. So the episode starts with him in the Land of Uz, 2500 BC, getting ready to kill all of Job’s goats. Aziraphale floats in ready to stop Crowley from killing all of these innocent creatures. Then he tries to get rid of Crowley and Crowley answers simply, "No."

Aziraphale: *big formal declaration meant to expell Crowley* Crowley: ... No. Aziraphale: No?? Crowley: No thank you?

Then there's the bet between God and Satan. Crowley shows Azi the very long contract showing that he has permission to kill these animals, God has agreed to this . Aziraphale's probably a bit horrified to learn that upstairs, they want to see if Job will still be loyal even after all his belongings and children are taken from him.

Aziraphale questions this. I immediately though of Crowley from the previous episode. Intentional, I'm sure, no? Okay, then we have Gabriel organizing books by the first line. Aziraphale is not impressed because lol who does that? Then, Gabriel start singing this song and Aziraphale asks the local record shop owner Maggie for a copy of this song. He discovers it's from an LP from The Resurrectionist pub in Edinburgh, which he believes may be a clue.

Later, the archangels come to the bookshop to investigate the miracle that set off their alarms. Thankfully the miracle has worked, and they don’t recognize Gabriel, the individual that they are after. They think he is just Aziraphale’s assistant. Aziraphale makes up this fib about making Maggie and Nina fall in love and explains that that's the miracle.

Turns out that Maggie is actually in love with coffee shop owner Nina, but Nina isn’t in love with her (not yet, at least). The angels take Azi's word for it but explain that they will be sending someone to verify this miracle at a later date.

Afterward, Aziraphale meets up with Crowley. Istg, I live for the banter between these two. Crowley shows up, telling Aziraphale he's got three reasons for calling the demon. 1) He's bored, 2) He's really excited about something he's done and he'll pop if he doesn't tell someone (which please, that implies that there have been moments when Aziraphale has literally called Crowley to gush about something he did and Crowley's probably just sat there, nodding "Mhmm"ing patiently as he listens to his husband be excited about those things....if someone hasn't written a fic about this or done art, please, I beg you. Do it.) and then 3) bc there's a problem. Azi's used the third one.

He tells Crowley about the fib and they've got to figure out how to make it work.

Flashback to Job's time, and we see Aziraphale arriving to stop Crowley from killing the children (though we find out later, he never actually intends to). Job’s kids are actually brats (except for Jemimah, she's not too bad). Then the reveal that Crowley never actually killed the goats (just um you know turned them into crows), and he wants to protect the children as well.

We see later their conversation about where their allegiances are and their sides. Then Crowley remarks that he's on his own side, and Aziraphale notes how lonely that must be.

Then there's this whole bit about God talking to Job and the angels are deceived by Azi and Crowley's plan. Gabriel isn't convinced though, and demands the truth. Aziraphale lies.

That lie eats away at him and he's afraid he's going to hell for it, but Crowley promises to keep his crimes a secret. Crowley comments on how Aziraphale is an angel who goes along with Heaven for as long as he can. Iirc this is the point when Azi says something about following Heaven up until some point, but there's a 'but'. Crowley notes that.

I think it's immensely interesting that the two of them do what they do, but they do what they know to be right, whether or not Heaven or Hell approve of that. To (hm pun a little bit intended) hell with all of that. And then, and then the bit with car.

I love these dorks so much.

Up next: Recap for 2x03.

Next episode's recap ➵

[writingisartdarling]

I've just returned to school after the summer and safe to say, the beginning of this autumn is going to be one heck of a ride...

Since I began my advanced flute studies last spring, I'll now be playing songs that are a LOT harder and having two hours of lessons every week (instead of the 1,5 hours I had before) and of course about two hours of home practice a week. Eek!

While my timetable is not horrible right now, I still have a lot of schoolwork (and math, which I suck at, on top of everything else) and two classes at the same time so there's quite a bit of extra work to be done at home.

I have my second final exam next month (Swedish - I've no clue how that language works, to be honest, so God help me) and I'll have to spend every single night after school revising for that...And on the weekends, as well...

And then at some point, I'll have to do my homework, eat, sleep and...repeat? I can't wait for it to be Christmas break already!

I mean, I'll have three more final exams in the spring soooo yeah, not Christmas break either because I'll probably spend it revising for those...Let's say, I want it to be the first of June 2025 and that's that.

Aaaannd, it makes me sad because I'll not really have any time for writing and I wish I had :( perhaps one day again...

Okay but now I really have to go read to that exam or I'll not pass it. SOS.

[sillyunicorn]

hey, cheers for tagging me! tell me more about that 3+1 Simon singing fic bc 👀 i love those kind of fics lol

-s.ham

Hi! 🥰 tks for the ask!!

This one is actually mostly partially written! It's a cute little American (I know) high school AU where Simon is trying so hard to flirt with Wille through cheesy pop songs and Wille is. Clueless. Despite having the biggest crush on Simon. There's also a bet between Rosh and Ayub about how well Simon's plan will work due to said cluelessness 😂

This one is stalled out bc middles are hard and bc I have a bunch of "[TK LYRICS]" where I need to figure out what song Simon could be singing 🤣

Here's the first scene below the cut:

"Dude. That was like, super embarrassing for you."

"What?!" Simon spluttered as Rosh dropped her lunch tray on the table next to him. "You think he knew the song was about him?"

"Oh, definitely not. But everyone else did."

Simon's cheeks burned. He had just treated the entire combined choir and concert band classes to his rendition of "Kiss You" for their weekly Friday performances during the previous period. Rosh was probably never going to let him live it down.

Across the table, Ayub tried to make him feel better.

"He is, like, totally in love with you though. Did you see the way he was staring?"

"Like a baby deer lost in the woods," Rosh scoffed.

"A baby fawn," Ayub agreed.

"Just a fawn," Rosh said.

"That's what I said."

"No, you said baby fawn. Which is redundant. A baby deer is a fawn.”

"It doesn’t even matter," Simon interrupted. "He doesn't even know I exist."

A tater tot hit him in the cheek, and Simon looked up to see Rosh shrugging at him. "So make sure he knows."

"What do you mean? Sing him an even more obvious love song?"

Simon had thought he was being discreet. Sure, he had changed "tell me girl" to "tell me boy" and had maybe made eye contact with Wille a few times, but other than that there was no way anyone could have known who he had in mind.

Rosh rolled her eyes. "I was going to say talk to him. He’s oblivious. He didn’t have a clue your song was directed to him. He's never going to pick up on your hints."

"I don't know," Ayub mused. "I sit next to him in math and he's like, really smart. I bet he could figure it out."

"Book smarts and emotional intelligence are not the same thing, trust me," Rosh said, now ripping the skin off a clementine. "Or else Yasmina and I would still be together."

"So I should sing him some more songs?" Simon asked.

"Definitely," Ayub said, just as Rosh said, "Absolutely not."

Simon looked between them, torn between frustration and amusement.

"How about this," Ayub said, picking up the tater tot Rosh had thrown at Simon and tossing it back at her. "We’ll make a bet. If Simon can get through to Wilhelm in song by Valentine's Day, you have to go out with my cousin Aiza. If he can't, I'll drive you to soccer practice for the rest of the year."

"You think he can get Wilhelm to speak up in two weeks? Deal," Rosh said, popping the twice-thrown tater tot in her mouth and extending her hand to Ayub.

Simon, who was pretty sure both of those things were going to happen eventually anyway, since Rosh had been checking out Aiza's Instagram stories every day at lunch for the last two weeks, and Ayub would be getting his license at the end of January, just shook his head.

"Don't I get a say in any of this?"

"Nope," his friends said in unison.

[curio-queries]

Run BTS: 066 | BTS in a Manga Cafe part 1

Original Air Date: 05 MAR 20179 Episode Length: 29:53 Total Parts: 2 YouTube English Subtitles: No Title Song: Idol

Synopsis: The guys are at a Manga cafe, completing various minigames on the same team to earn snacks.

Production: I love this concept but there are some definite execution problems. the people counting game is great, but it loses so much by having to blur the books. They should have worked out a rights deal or done something different. the fill-in-the-blank game was another good idea, i guess? Definitely not non-Manga-Reader-Friendly which is fine but only showing the clue to us for a brief flash? they easily could have done an overlay on the bottom of the screen to have the clue visible the whole time the guys were working on them... the menu game was just confusing and obviously not set up fairly in the first place

Endearment: I've said it before, and I'll say it again, i absolutely love seeing people excited by their joys and frivolous passions. It's clear all of these guys have some interest in manga and enjoyed having this as a concept.

Winner/Loser: see final part

Best Cheater: staff...prepping a book for the ppl counting challenge that gave them an advantage

Member Moments:

RM: RMs Naruto run was so heckin adorable

JN: Honestly shocked that Jin didn't take the Jin manga that Hobi found. Maybe he was thinking he NEEDED one that he was familiar with?

YG: Always good to hear Suga's passion for Slam Dunk

JH: Hobi is so entertaining when he's right about something. when he got that menu item and no one was listening to him, then they turned the answers all to him.

JM: Loving JM picking up on JKs singing of 21st century girl.

V: Tae being so passionate about that pokemon line section. he tried so hard!

JK: JK asking for the menu, he was stepping into his food-focus.

Bonus Content: Again, doesnt really feel like much extra. its interesting that they came to this specific cafe because VMin had been there before.

CQ Rank: 3

(CQ Eval Date: 26 MAY 2024)

Check out this post for my Masterlist of all episodes and descriptions of how I'm evaluating these.

Previous Episode: 065

Next Episode: 067

[redmenacelives]

Good Omens 2: Has anyone broken down the songs playing in the record shop yet?

Soooooo, I've got Good Omens 2 playing in the background yet again while cranking out work for my own bureaucratic overlords (and thus am mostly just picking up audio), and I noticed that when Aziraphale goes into the record shop in the first episode Lesley Gore's You Don't Own Me is playing. Now I'm on the second episode, and this time when he goes in You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Dusty Springfield is playing, and my little ADHD addled, dopamine chasing brain is trying to figure out why they were picked and if they mean anything. Does Maggie just really dig the 60s (I mean, that is kind of her whole vibe) or do the lyrics have some deeper meanings for the story?

You Don't Own Me is basically a fabulous "fuck off, you are NOT the boss of me and you can't tell me what to DO and you can't tell me who to DATE and I like having a life so I am going to HAVE A LIFE, thank you very much" song (which could easily apply to either of our ineffable idiots and their feelings regarding their respective head offices at the beginning of season 2, or--if you are down with the "Maggie is Book of Life Fanfiction Penned in by the Metatron" hypothesis, Maggie and the Metatron's narrative). But I'm maybe leaning more into the former just because of the second record shop song.

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me is--look, if you haven't ever listened to it, or just never really paid attention to the words, maybe go and pull it up on YouTube and also give the lyrics a little read through. I'll wait right here.

Done?

OKAY, so now that you've acquainted or reacquainted yourself with that little ditty--like, COME ON. THAT incredibly dramatic and over the top and heartbroken and pleading song sure does seem to slot nicely into the end of season 2, right? Right. I'm definitely not just slowly slipping into conspiracy theory-type-finding-random-connections-that-aren't-really-there insanity, right? Or, again if you are going with "Maggie isn't real, Metatron just has her playing real on TV," maybe we've got this song because Maggie is at the "And Here is the Complication that Must Be Solved" part of Metatron's fanfic. I AM NOT SLOWLY SLIPPING BENEATH THE WATER IN THE COVE OF INSANITY, RIGHT?

I am positive that we only visit the record shop one more time in season 2 (when Crowley pops in) and I'm not sure what song is playing there yet, but my little connection seeking brain is whispering "three visits, three songs, Neil Gaiman knows a bit about the rule of three" and "I bet it's a big old Clue about next season OR about what the deal with Maggie is" and now I'm obviously going to have to find out what the song is and analyze it to death, but also I'm just really curious if 1) I HAVE LOST MY MIND, GOOD OMENS HAS FINALLY BROKEN ME, or 2) if anyone else has gone down this same spiral and if so, what did THEIR Good-Omens-obsessed-connection-seeking-brain come up with?

I've gone full crackpot, haven't I? Whoops.

[blueepink07]

Kotoko door analysis

(slight mentions of murder and violence)

In this post, I'll try my best to analyse Kotoko's door art! It will have 4 sections! Feel free to skip to which one you want, but I can't guarantee that there aren't parts in which I correlate what I say with an earlier phrase!

1. Colours

2. Door

3. Door elements

4. Kotoko - body language and item

Colours

The predominant colour for her door is deep pink. It's interesting, because it is very similar with her song title!

This shade of pink is often associated with boldness, exitement and something alarming.

Kotoko is excited to work with us, as stated in her voice lines for the second trial. She promises to use her strength for Es in order to punish the evildoers, happy that there is someone who she thinks understands her views.

"Kotoko: To be honest, I don't know your true intentions. And I don't know whether you are a similar person with similar thoughts. Who knows, maybe it's just my delusion of wishful thinking."

Kotoko is working alone most of the time during her MV. Her desires to change the world and punish the evil, are aspects that even she knows that are very hard to achieve alone. Despite the "lone wolf" saying and association with many characters, wolves are animals that work better together, as a pack. They are loyal and care about eachother, they hunt better and protect, having a common objective of self-preservation.

Kotoko's frustration and desperation in this voice line, illustrates that people, in general, aren't very fond of her actions and wishes. She yells at them, because she's tired of having to explain her desires. On top of that, the fact that she has to work alone, means that she is hardly achieving what she wants.

"From the beginning I've never asked for your understanding! My actions, one by one, are bringing earth closer to peace. Useless Weaklings should just shut up and let me protect them!"

When she sees Es, she can't shake the oportunity of not working with them. She is hoping for a change, and thinks that maybe, just maybe, she finally found the right person, the right partner.

"Kotoko: Let's shake hands. We will be companions."

Boldness is really self-explanatory considering Kotoko's character. She is not afraid to put herself in danger, because she is confident in her skills. In order to protect people, she is overworking herself and fights untill exhaustion. By calling herself a "fang", it indicates how she has the tendecy to consider herself a weapon, an intem used to deliver justice, showing how little concern she has for her well-being.

"Good morning, Es. I’m Yuzuriha Kotoko. I’m your fangs."

Deep pink is a colour that cathes people attention. It is composed from red and white, the darker the pink, the more red used. This colour is associated with something alarming, basically danger. It is a nice parallel, considering that Kotoko attacked the guilty prisoners, and is a dangerous person in the eyes of the evildoers.

Moreover, intense pinks often creates a sense of urgency. In the MV, Kotoko is seen running almost constantly, never taking a break, and trying her hardest to find clues and take action. She is determinated to deliver justice and to pursue her work. Along with her desperate and strong singing, the urgency can be felt and seen.

Next, we have a shade of teal, which is used for the text!

Teal symbolises individuality, renewal, morality, practicality, welcoming, logical, private.

Individuality -> Kotoko is seen as an unique person due to her unusual wishes. She is not understood by many, she gave up on asking people to understand her, although she craves for support and help.

Morality -> she has a strong sense of justice and such learned to distinguish what's bad or good, right or wrong. Moreover, being a law student, means that she wants to pursue a career based on these principles.

Practicality, renewal -> Kotoko is trying her hardest to give her best, even more now that she has Es as a partner. Practicality can also mean "usefulness" or "utility". Combined with Kotoko's views about herself, in which she considers as a weapon to be used, it makes a lot of sense with her character.

"(laughs) Just as I hoped. So you want to work together with me, right? I’ll live up to your expectations and use up all of my power for you."

Welcoming -> Kotoko offered Es to work together, basically welcoming them to team up. Even now, this most likely represents her willingness to continue the deal, looking at Es with a pround grin, in a way that express her happiness that she has a partner.

Logical, private -> Kotoko, despite offering to work with Es, didn't reveal much information about herself, other than her beliefs. Although she wants to work with us, for logical reasons, she keeps details in the unfortunate event that she might be betrayed. Also, in her MV, she is shown carefully finding information, analysing it and, then, going into action. She carefully plans, and keeps her identity anonymous, the best example being Kotoko hurting the man from the alley with men boots, for the police to not suspect her.

Door

Now that we covered the colours, let's proceed to the door.

Due to medieval style that it has, and because the material used it's most likely iron, I think it looks very similar with a dungeon door.

"A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with  medieval castles, though their association with tortue probably belongs more to the Renaissance period."

Considering the definition, I think it fits a lot with Kotoko. She sees herself as Es's companion, above the other prisoners, whom she beats up based on our judgement. The torture part isn't far fetched either, seeing the state Mahiru and Fuuta are during this trial and, who knows, maybe even in the next.

However, the appearance of the dungeons can have a bigger correlation with Kokoko's character. Dungeons are places of torture and imprisonment, therefore they correlate with deeply hidden, unconscious thoughts and fears.

It's no wonder that her VD will be pretty much Kotoko and Es discussing her current actions and the deal. Even in the song preview, she is asking why do we want to stop her? Isn't it what justice is about?

Kotoko might feel a litte betrayed by Es, who doesn't want to continue this vigilante justice in the prison. As I stated before, Kotoko is very happy, having Es as a companion, with whom her work is easier, feeling more closer to ending her mission of eradicating the evildoers. Kotoko is a logical person, so I think that deep down she will realize easily that her and Es don't have the same ideals and principales. She was alone for a long time, her wishes not being seen with good eyes by others. I don't think Kotoko doesn't fear deep down that Es will betray her, if she'll be voted guilty, although these things will surely be hidden by her tough front. She is scared of not having a purpose, a way to prove herself, and without Es, all these things will dissapear.

Moreover, the fact that this door is the most "open" in the sense that, due to the iron bars, we can see the darkness, her subconscious, it indicates that she'll probably be the most open to share her views, new details about the crime. After all, even in the first voice drama, she has no fear in letting Es see her "heart", and now, she has the same attitude.

"Kotoko: After all, Es, you can touch (access) my heart (inner world), right? Through songs and videos..

Es: That is correct.

Kotoko: Then there's no problem. People who understand will automatically do so."

Kotoko, in reality, didn't change much, but she become more confident, because now she has a reason to give justice, a new purpose. In a way, it's like an addiction for Kotoko, this feeling of being right and punishing evil. And it was even more pronounced, because of our vote and deal. An addiction it's not something that you can get rid off easily: the more you do, the more you want it and need it.

"Don't stop/ I need a good reason to give justice/ Give me my next purpose"

Now, this will be just a speculation on my part, but based on the fact that dungeons can symbolise (the deepest fears and thoughts), and that the door is the "most open", I think we will dig much deeper in Kotoko's subconscious, maybe finding more elements of her relationship with her own desires and the lack of self care, maybe even more information about why she made this decision of dedicating herself for justice. Even if these things will not happen, what I'm sure of is that Kotoko's MV will be a banger!

Door elements

Because we covered the door itself, we will continue analysing the elements from it: the wolf claw marks, the eye and the weighing scale.

The claw marks

"The imagery of the claw has long been associated with the idea of the hunter, the protector, and the warrior. The sharp edges of the claw symbolises our ability to defend ourselves and our loved ones and represents the primal force that stirs within us. Whether carved from stone or crafted from metal, the claw symbolises the strength and perseverance that lies within us all."

No wonder, claw marks symbolise Kotoko's strenght and ability to protect others, as well as her ferocity when she is giving punishments to evildoers. It's not the first time when she feels connected to the wolves, seeing herself as a part of the pack. She is determinated to achieve her goals of eradicating evil from the world.

Claw marks can symbolise passion and intense emotions. The intoxicating feeling that Kotoko has every time she manages to find a bad person, when she has a new purpose, a new utility. Also, it can illustrate Kotoko's lack of sympaty for these kind of people and how she doesn't feel any remorse, being pround of her actions.

I would also want to point out the rust:

Although ruin, most of the time, symbolises neglect and decay, further accentuating Kotoko's murder and the beatings in the prison, which resulted in Mahiru being on the brink of death, it can also represent endurance and impermanence.

"Rust is also a reminder of impermanence. It serves as a symbol of the fact that everything in life is temporary and has an expiration date. It can serve as a reminder to cherish the present moment and not take anything for granted."

In this case, Kotoko will most probably lose her power and authority that it was granted to her by Es, when accepting the deal. She exploited this new power, by punishing the guilty prisoners without Es's knowledge, being convinced that their ideals are totaly aligned. In the end, this deal will turn out to be nothing but temporary, depending on her future verdict.

Also, isn't it interesting how every claw mark has three scratch marks (Fuuta's number), and together they are six (Mahiru's number)?

Weighing scale

"The scales (specifically, a two-pan, beam balance) are one of the traditional symbols of justice, as wielded by statues of Lady Justice. This corresponds to the use in a metaphor of matters being "held in the balance"."

This one is a pretty known fact, that scales represent justice, fairness and equal treatment.

Justice is pretty much the main part of Kotoko's character, so no wonder that we have an association with the lady of justice. However, it's important to remember that we are the ones that are voting the characters, Kotoko is just following our decisions. So not only it serves as a reminder for the deal established, but also at our own hypocrisy. Our judgements are nothing but impure, they are not fair, because our biases come to play. So seeing this weighing scale, which is supposed to represent fairness, it's quite funny. To further highlight my point, the eye on the door is not covered, not even closed.

So in the end, it's an interesting way to show our hypocrisy and Kotoko's, because, she's following our judgement without bothering to find more information about their specific crimes, blindly trusting Es, in the process.

Eye

Considering that we talked about the eye, let's continue with it.

The way is shaped, and because of the big emphasis of showing more Kotoko's right eye (here, in the door art, but also, in the thumbnail), this more likely represents the eye of Ra.

What is the eye of Ra?

"The Egyptian eye is found in various amulets. The idea here is that it can help push the negative energy away while bringing harmony back into your life. It's interesting because a lot of pharaohs were using it as a way to protect themselves while also destabilizing the government. That said, you need to be careful if you choose to invoke this energy. It can sometimes become violent and out of control."

This eye represents very well the situation that we have with Kotoko. If we consider her the eye of Ra, it can easily illustrate how we "invoked" her by making this deal, in order to protect us and give us information about the life in prison, but she became too violent and went out of control, punishing the guilty prisoners without Es's acord.

What's even more interesting is that eye of Ra amulets were most of the time coloured in a dark crimson colour to ward against evil spirits. Kotoko has dark crimson eyes, the similarities between this eye and her are fascinating!

Moreover, there is a legend in which the human Ra become old and weak, so people started to disregard his laws and rules. Annoyed, he punished the people, sending his daughter Ra's lion eye, which anihilated almost all humanity!

A summary of the legend: feel free to skip!

"According to legend, the human Ra was old and frail, and because of this, his people began to disregard his laws and directives. To punish his people, he dispatched his daughter, Ra’s lion’s eye. The eye grew enraged and annihilated humanity. The gods were worried that the eye would kill everyone. Ra got his eyes drunk on red beer and passed out. The eye then calmed down and returned to Ra."

There are other myths too. For example, one of them, which is very similar with what Kotoko is doing this trial, states that the Eye of Ra is designed to acquire information. Then justice is brought based on the info accumulated by the eye.

"Kotoko: Using you, in the position of a prison guard, with information you received from the interrogations. Paired with me, in the position of a prisoner, with information I receive from my life in prison… us sharing it. What do you think?"

Anyway, I think we talked enough about this eye, let's proceed to next section, which is the last!

Kotoko - body language and item

Kotoko's shown grinning at us with a confident attitude, quite proundly, having one of her hands on her hips, and in the other holding a baton.

Grin

"Grin is defined as a facial expression that expresses the feeling of pleasure, amusement, or insincere. The body language carried out for this expression is that the person smiles in the manner that his mouth is open and the teeth are visible."

Feeling of pleasure of having found her "awaited hero" and punishing the people who have sinned.

Hand on hip

"The hand on hip pose usually means you're feeling confident and ready to take action."

Kotoko is demonstrating us that she is ready to do whatever "next purpose" or task we are giving her. She is looking at us like we are her partner, and she can't wait to take again action!

Also:" just like how the pose can make you feel more confident, placing your hands on your hips can assure you that you’re capable and know what you’re doing."

At the same time, she is also reassuring herself and her actions, probably thinking that the task ahead or "the dirty work" as she calls it in VD, will be difficult, but, at the same time, will bring her the satisfaction of knowing that she contributed more in punishing the bad people.

An interesting fact!

"Police officers often place their hands on their hips to show that they’re ready to take charge. This pose is so common in police officers that you might be able to tell that someone is a cop when they’re not in uniform!"

Further implying the new authority that it was granted to Kotoko after the deal!

Considering that we talked about police officers, let's get to the item, more precisely the baton! (btw, kind of upset, because I can't really find something else to talk about her pose, as for other characters! But her door is still one of the prettiest!)

Baton

The first time I've seen the art, I genually thought for a moment that she is holding a sword, realizing shortly after that is just the baton from her second sprite! But, because I made this correlation, I immediately thought, again, at the Lady of Justice, but this time, at her weapon!

"In ancient times, a guilty verdict was executed with a literal swing of the sword on the neck of the accused. The symbolism is thus used to convey the idea that justice, when enforced, should be swift and with finality.

Swords likewise symbolize authority and respect, denoting that justice stands by its every ruling and decision. However, notice that Lady Justice’s sword is unsheathed, meaning justice is always transparent and is never just an implement of fear."

The baton, in this case, is like the sword for the Lady of Justice! (so many associations with her!). Kotoko is using it to showcase her authority and to command respect. Es is the one that "rules" and makes the decisions. Kotoko is the one who is swinging her "sword" and punishes, basically doing the dirty work.

"You're too kind. You can't bear to see the prison changing due to your choices, can you? You need allies. I'll do the dirty work."

This is very long! I am tired, but also excited to see Kotoko's MV! The symbolism, the elements on the door are so fascinating... It actually makes you wonder if Kotoko sees herself as a Lady of Justice in her own way!

Thank you for reading! ~🐺

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Okay okay last one;

These three group songs were probably my favourites, specially when it came to the lyrics because of the way they highlighted the brothers' relationships with each other?

Also loved listening to Belphie's cutesy and almost childish voice & Satan's serious and mature one singing about giving Lucifer hell. Absolutely perfect. 0 notes.

And then when they just reluctantly start talking about how they kind of actually appreciate Lucifer????

What kind of trap should we set up, this and that, he's back

This story is stranger than fiction, bookmark tucked, continue to decode next

At the end, I depend on you. You know it anyway, right?

Icy face, annoying man

But I probably can't hate that part of you too

Even the gentleness that's born from pain

I guess I also understand it

I'm no match for you, but-

Today's another day of planning pranks. Just imagining the scene makes me happy

Belphie's lines are soft and feel somewhat wistful? - resigned to the fact that yeah he does understand and appreciate Lucifer. Which makes sense because there was a time where Belphie was very open about how much he loves Lucifer and he does think back on that time with something like longing, now. So he'd be more likely to understand and accept the way he feels about Lucifer below the surface level of what he shows in the present.

Meanwhile, Satan sounds annoyed and reluctant. He also, obviously, loves and, to an extent, even understands Lucifer but doesn't like confronting it

I love how they jump to singing about playing pranks again, as if they got a bit too honest about their feelings and a bit too deep in their introspection about Lucifer and needed to change the topic to something that's easier

"The I'm not match for you, but-" line is especially interesting because it comes between these two parts of the song that convey significantly different emotions from each other - the quiet introspective part and the peppy surface level part.

It could very well fit in with the peppy surface level part and so mean "you're stronger than us and so our pranks won't work but we'll still keep trying because they make us happy" but the way it's sung, the tone of it, and the way the "but-" doesn't feel like a continuation to the next line but rather the next line feels like it jumped in and cut off what would have really come after the "but-" because they were getting too honest - makes that line feel something more like "I'll never live up to you/your standards/your being"

<- which is a feeling that we've seen the others struggle with as well (Asmo and Mammon mention it explicitly, Beel implies it and context clues also point to it, Levi has never said he has a problem with living up to Lucifer specifically but given that he has issues with everyone's expectations and given what Lucifer is just generally like, it's not farfetched to assume Levi also feels similarly)

Anyway didn't expect a song to give me Feelings™ I'm not doing well

Rock On (Lucifer & Mammon)

Trigger (Levi, Asmo & Beel)

[pizzamanstan]

Thank you @halfbakedspuds for the tag!

9 people 9 questions

Last Song: Rest by Samuel Hazo

Favorite Color: Phthalo Green!

Last Movie/TV Show: To be honest, I have no clue. So I'll recommend the French series Lupin (found on netflix and maybe elsewhere)! If you like Ocean's Eleven I'm pretty confident you'll love at least the first season.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: Savory, sometimes sweet, never spicy

Relationship status: Single and not currently looking

Last thing I Googled: "Álvaro Siza projects". My current studio professor loves his work, so everyone in the class has to pick 3 of his projects to investigate further. My favorite is this residential project in Italy.

Current Obsession: The potential connections between the modern-day rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of 19th and 20th century industrial architecture and a current trend of new construction borrowing from that typology (large multi-paned windows, brick facades, wooden or concrete flooring, simple massing with minor ornamentation, etc.)

Last thing you cooked/ate: Instant ramen! I don't think that really counts as cooking though...

What you’re working on: See "current obsession," at the moment that's a central theme of my thesis, which is essentially going to be my life for the next 8-9 months...

No pressure tag for any of the following (and an open tag for anyone else): @sapphicwizards @echowritesstuff @xenascribbles @kaylinalexanderbooks @goodluckclove

[eyeslikewatercoolers]

Bitter-Jasyasco

Happy OOT Thursday! Here's a fun short fic. I'm bringing back an old AU of mine for ✨one🕺night🕺only✨ This is from my s14 vampire AU, basically the synopsis is Jasmine is a (somewhat new) vampire, and Bosco and Daya are her human girlfriends (that also provide her blood for feeding)

Featuring Crygi mentions, licking game cartridges, and obvious Pokémon references.

"Are you ready for me?" Jasmine peeked around the door to the bigger bedroom, seeing Bosco sitting up on the bed watching an old thriller movie on the television.

"Yeah, come on in." Bosco waved her in and sat closer to the head of the bed, making room for Jasmine to sit next to her.

The blonde sat on the bed as Bosco paused the movie. Jasmine reached over and placed the fruit snacks from the kitchen on the bedside table for Bosco to eat afterward.

Jasmine felt her fangs emerge as she watched her girlfriend shrug off her red and black flannel, revealing pale skin that she was about to bite into.

"Left or right this time?" Jasmine asked, referring to which arm. Jasmine learned some tips after she was turned on how to safely bite humans for feeding. After a weekend visit from Daya's sister and her sister's girlfriend, Jasmine learned from Gigi that biting from the arm is easier than the neck.

Jasmine still has the video of Gigi's demonstration of feeding on Crystal (even though Daya felt a little weird watching it, although Jasmine insisted).

"Let's do my right this time," Bosco said as she straightened out her arm, and Jasmine felt around for the vein.

"Ready?" Jasmine asked as Bosco nodded, and carefully positioned her teeth and sunk them into the skin. She felt the warmth of the blood touch her fangs and removed her teeth to let the blood come to the surface.

Jasmine knew the taste of Bosco's blood pretty well at this point. Her blood had a warm embodiment taste, with some hints of cinnamon and anise. But it tasted nothing like that this time.

The blood tasted harsh and acidic as if someone poured vinegar into straight into the vein. Jasmine immediately licked the wound to heal it and lifted her head, making a soured face at the horrid taste in her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Bosco asked and looked at her with concern.

"You don't taste right," Jasmine explained. "You taste really bitter, for some reason."

"Why would I taste different? I didn't take any medicine or anything like that." Bosco questioned.

Jasmine shrugged and got off the bed. "No clue, can we try again tomorrow? Maybe it's a one-time thing."

The next evening, Jasmine tried to feed from Bosco again, with the exact same results.

"You taste the same." Jasmine sighed as she wiped her fangs with a tissue, trying to get the rancid taste out of her mouth. "You sure haven't eaten anything different? Or take any medicines or anything like that?" she asked as Bosco put back on her oversized flannel shirt.

The other girl shook her head. "Nope, and I feel fine. Do you want to try it again tomorrow?" she offered.

"No, it's okay. I'll just ask Daya." Jasmine stood off her seat on the bed. "But first I need to rinse my mouth out," she said as she made a slightly scrunched face.

Several minutes later, Jasmine found Daya at the desk in the spare bedroom, headphones on with a music program software open in front of her. As much as Jasmine liked watching her girlfriend focus on the work she loved doing, she needed to interrupt to feed.

She knocked loudly, walked across the room, and plopped herself on the small bed. That seemed to get Daya's attention, as the other girl paused the song she was working on and took off her headphones.

"Yes, babycakes?"Daya asked as she turned her chair to face the blonde.

"How's your blood sugar right now? I need to feed."

"I feel fine but I can check it just to make sure," Daya said as she took out her phone to check her blood sugar monitor's app. "I thought that you fed from Bosco yesterday?" she asked.

Jasmine shrugged, "She tastes bitter right now."

"Bitter? What do you mean by bitter?"

Jasmine thought of how to describe the taste for a quick moment "You know when you lick a Switch game cartridge and it has that really bad taste? It's like that." she explained.

Daya tilted her head in confusion. "Why are you licking Switch cartrig-" she was interrupted by her phone beeping. "It's 97, I'm fine." She put the phone back on the desk and sat next to Jasmine on the bed, rolling up her sleeve.

Holding out an arm and giving Jasmine a small nod of consent, Jasmine bit into Daya's arm. The familiar light taste of Daya's blood filled Jasmine's mouth. She adored tasting the hints of bright herbs in Daya's blood, it was a big contrast from Bosco's taste.

Once Jasmine felt satisfied, she licked the puncture wound to heal it and lifted off Daya's arm.

Daya sat back against the wall as she watched Jasmine reach into her hoodie pocket (Well, Bosco's hoodie that Jasmine stole months ago) and pulled out a package of graham cracker cookies to give to her to replenish her blood sugar.

Jasmine leaned against Daya's side as the taller girl put one arm around Jasmine's shoulder, bringing her closer.

"My blood didn't taste bitter?" she asked.

"Nope, it was perfect."

Days later on a Saturday morning, Daya and Jasmine found themselves having a lazy morning together on the living room couch. Daya's head was settled in Jasmine's lap, as the blonde played the latest Pokémon game.

"Nice, I caught a shiny Lickitung."

"Like licking those game cartridges?" Daya looked up with a smirk on her face.

Before Jasmine had the chance to respond, the two heard the front door opening, followed by a series of coughs. They weren't surprised by the coughing, since they had been hearing it for the past few days.

"Hey baby, what did the urgent care doctor say?" Jasmine asked as she and Daya watched Bosco walk inside, looking pale and exhausted.

Bosco plopped herself in the loveseat chair, placing the paper prescription bag on the coffee table. "It's the flu. I think I got it from Irene when I went to help her move to her new apartment," she said as she drew her knees closer to her chest, coughing a few more times.

"Wait, didn't I try to feed from you the day after that?" Jasmine asked, pausing and closing the game as Daya sat up.

"Yeah, why?" Bosco asked in response.

"You tasted really bitter. I think I tasted the virus in your blood."

"So vampires can taste if someone is infected before they show symptoms?' Daya asked.

Jasmine shrugged, "I guess we can I'll ask Gigi later she thinks if that's what it was." as She stood off the couch and took the prescription bag. "C'mon. I can't get sick so I'll nurse you back to health. So you go to bed and I'll make you some chicken noodle soup." she said to Bosco.

"You just miss the taste of me, don't you?"

"That too, and I'm definitely not having more of that gross sick blood until you get better."

[dollarbin]

Sandy Saturday's #13:

Pass of Arms

I'll bet there are already far more words written about T. Swift's new record than in all of the Mahabharata (that's the Hindu holy book that contains the Bhagavad Gita; it's around 13,000 pages long).

The opposite can be said for Pass of Arms, a 1971 half hour film that contains two stand alone Sandy Denny songs. The film does not have a Wikipedia page and is not available in any form anywhere as near as I can tell: it exists but you literally cannot watch it.

Having a Wikipedia page is a pretty low bar. Without knowing, I bet there are extensive ones dedicated to Chewbacca's family tree and Joe Biden's dog. I'm right on both counts of course: I just looked.

But google to your hearts content: the internet confirms that the short film existed, that it claimed to be "award winning", and that a guy who worked marginally on the 80's buddy flick Spies Like Us, in which I seem to remember that Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase save the world from nuclear destruction while failing to make us laugh, directed it; and that's it.

Happily, we can still hear the songs at least, something I've never done with any real focus until this moment. Let's start with Here in Silence.

Okay, I'm digging it so far. I picture a knight in his pensive non-warrior boy clothes looking longingly at his maiden, fall grass billowing between them in slow motion; but then that scene gives way to that same knight, now in full armor, gearing up for gnarly battle and then we realize this is actually a film about the Children's Crusade, or maybe it's all a chunky metaphor and it's actually about angsty and hirsute teens in jolly old 70's England: they're looking to stick to the man, or bloke I guess - this is England - and, well, maybe there's a reason no one other than me is angry they can't watch this film anymore because this song, which Denny clearly did not write, kinda sucks. Sandy sounds glorious, as always, but I'd rather hear her sing The Wheels On The Bus.

Have some faith though, people. We've got the marginally more famous Man of Iron track left to consider. I've definitely heard this one before, but I can remember nothing about it other than the fact that it's really long and moody with strings. Here goes!

Yeah, those are strings alright. Today the students at my tiny high school were all bent out of shape - it's Spring and everyone's either breaking up, thinking about it or striving to create similar drama in their life asap, so I led a full school game of musical chairs on the basketball court and declared in advance that I would win at all costs. I did not win but I shoved a bunch of giant teen boys aside in the effort and everyone laughed at their weird teacher and got into it.

We're a pretty cool school so one of our tenth graders, who's already a semi-professional cellist, played whatever came into his head for each round, which sure beat dancing around the chairs while T. sang 65 new songs about her loser boyfriends or whatever. My student's cello sounded, some of the time, a bit like the vibe that starts the track, only better. Then for the next round he'd play Mozart at triple speed.

But now there's a whole mess of fifes involved and this thing is starting to sound silly. Bring in Sandy Denny soon, please.

Oh thank the sensitive medieval Jesus who probably repeatedly appears to the lead character in this film swathed in psychedelic splendor: here's Sandy, and she's brought a whole pack of Cinderella's helpful birds with her to twitter about, somewhat helpfully.

But these lyrics are unbearable. When I was in seventh grade I committed the cardinal sin of writing an earnest original poem about "the roller coaster of life" and then turned it in to my earnest, no clue teacher who of course then read it to the whole class while on the verge of tears - someone had finally attempted something, anything, of marginal note in his earnest but lousy class - which turned my pimply face red, then white, then putrescent purple with shame as the other 13 year olds around me murmured then moved on to mirth and then on to all out rage: never would I be forgiven for writing sensitive poetry in earnest. Jeff Stimpfig, the school's stock character bully, declared me both gay (it was 1989; "gay" equaled uncool and homophobia equaled cool; what a dumb world...) and soon to be dead through his potent fists. Anyway, my seventh grade poem was surely terrible. But it contained far fewer cliches than this claptrap.

Was this end you chose Sir Knight?

Was this why you were born so bright?

The wolves will chew your bones tonight...

Sandy clearly needed a sizeable offered payday to have ever uttered these words; Trevor Lucas, or perhaps Stephen Stills, surely talked her into the whole gig. The guitar is nice though... I wonder if Sandy plays it. Sounds like her...

But good grief, now we've got a stomach churning drum thing going on. I'm starting to think this whole film may have been a Stephen Stills vanity project: it probably centers on Stills's broriffic relationship with Joe Freakin' Lala; they're on a quest to no longer suck and it's going nowhere fast as their stuck in a room of lemons, all of them worth sucking, and buxom ladies who admire them for no discernible reason whatsoever; and then, at the end of the film / this terrible song, aliens in sunglasses descend and take Steve and Joe to their leader for an extraterrestrial blues jam complete with wolves and low production value fake wind. Clearly, they didn't have Neil Young's budget for fake wind: he's got a huge budget when it comes to producing fake wind.

I'm guessing that Sandy's estate is responsible for insuring this film can no longer be seen by anyone. Indeed, The Dollar Bin itself may soon be hacked so as to eliminated this entire post one conniving letter at a time in their nefarious quest to separate Denny from any observable connection to the film Pass of A....

[hijinks-n-lowjinks]

GET ASKED LOSER. FIVE-EMOJI STRIKE 🌠🐸🔮🎥 🤷‍♀️

Fuck, nooooooooo, not the five-emoji strike!!!! (jk i love you)

🌠 What are your top three most commonly used tags on AO3?

Honestly there isn't a ton of my fics that have similar tags because I forget what tags I should include but they all really should include slow burn, friends to lovers, and mutual pining.

🐸 If you incorporated your OTP into a Disney movie plot, which would it be?

Oooooooo let me think. I think itafushi woulod work really well in the plot of Hercules! Big, kindhearted jock and sassy, cynical hottie? Perfect. I also think Meg's fear of falling for Hercules, someone who is so genuine, would also parallel Megumi's insecurities well.

🔮 What's your favorite plot twist you've ever written?

No fucking clue. I have some twists in my original stories but don't think really any of my fics have plot twists, but I suppose the next chapter of aibtntfi is gonna be a change in vibe for sure. I don't really consider it a twist, but it'll be a shift lol.

🎥 Pick a fic and I'll tell you the song I imagine playing during its movie trailer

Every single fic of mine is named after a song so those titles are pretty much exactly what I play in my head when I think about a trailer lol. (ie: and i've been tryin' not to feel it = I Can See You by Taylor Swift, you'll always know me = dorothea by Taylor Swift, It Had To Be You = It Had To Be You by Frank Sinatra, etc)

🤷‍♀️ What's a fic you didn't expect to be popular, but really took off?

My itafushi fic and i've been tryin' not to feel it. I was NOT expecting it to blow up as much as it did, I figured it would get maybe a couple hundred hits just out of curiosity or out of loyalty from my former subscribers but it's already surprised my other fics by a pretty high margin in kudos and hits. I feel very honored to have it receive the attention it's gotten!

[random-meme-bot]

When did you initially come up with your oc's? Like... long has the concept of hexes on the shelves existed in your head? :0

Also, this may be a hard question but do you maybe have any voice headcanons for them? :o

Ok this is actually a hard question to answer, since the actual idea of a duo of character that can see ghost and it's ghost partner started way way back when I was a kid due to a pair of Spanish educational point & click adventure games called "Central de Fantasmas" (ghost central)

While the games are surprisingly high quality for the standars of educational games (the guy voice actor also does Fry in futurama as well as a lot other characters in other shows), all things considered they didn't do much with the ghost idea, so it led to my kid shelf imagining this stories about a duo of characters one human and one ghost, I'll be honest I don't remember anything about them.

A few years back, on 2022 I got really nostalgic for this games and decided to play them (took a while to make them run since these where designed for Windows XP tops) and the memories of me playing came back and through the next days of playing I started again tinkering with the idea of a human/ghost duo, it all clicked when YouTube recomended me the song "All my friends are ghost" by Dib Dooley (the original non music video is older but it's no longer on her channel)

That's the point where my mind gave form to Ely, this parody of a mystery children book protagonist, unlike those who pieced things together out of clues that then would lead them to traping the villan thanks to their quick thinking and resourcefulness, Ely was clumsy, almost always was in the wrong track with her assumptions, and only managed to catch the bad guy at the end and survive fighting against literal crime bosses because of her friend Dan, a grumpy ghost who despite what he says really cares about Ely and makes sure to protect her, all lead to this.

The first ever art of Ely & Dan.

Ely's dressing was roughly inspired by another parody of Kids mystery books, Jenny LeClue, while Dan's was inspired by Gibson from the Webtoon "Greetings from Grisley".

Despite the fact that Jenny doesn't have a hat while Gibson does, the hat actually was originally drawn as part of Elly's design to complement the detective look, then it was given to Dan as it's design looked to simple.

The idea kept going in my head and some questions started to form "Why can Elly see ghosts?" "Why does Dan want to become a writer so bad?" "How does Dan manage to pay the bills with him being a ghost and his book store not making any money?".

That's the point where I decided to actually make a story out of this and started to learn how to use adventure game studio, when I more or less had an understanding of how everything worked and had programed a way to switch between normal Ely & Dan Elly, I realized that I didn't have any sprites or artist abilities, after some days and a bunch of re doing I had the sprite versions that I posted over here.

I decided to park the project for now and develop some art skills moment in which I started to draw other ideas I had (check the art section in my pinned post for more on that).

The Ideas for Ely & Dan keep going in my head evolving until their current version and at that point I just couldn't take it I needed to share them, so I took your advice and decided that even if they weren't going to look the best they could at least they were going to look, and so Elly & Dan were posted.

So yeah, to answer it simply, the concept as we know it today, middle of 2023 more or less, the original concept more or less middle to late 2022, the Original idea 2010 or so...

Also about the second question, I don't, I've tried to come up with voices for them both in English & in Spanish but they always change.

[nimuetheseawitch]

2, 3, 14, 15, 29

2. Do you read/reread your own fics?

Yes. All the time. I pretty much write entirely for me (and am pleasantly surprised when other people like it too).

3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Gosh, this is really hard. They're all my babies. If I really have to pick one, I guess it would be Sitting here tonight because I'm a sucker for pining and love letters and this series is really dear to me, even if I'm super blocked on it right now and cannot manage to work on the next installment.

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick?

I don't think most of them have anywhere near enough plot to make much of a film, but I think Autopilot would make a really cute comic.

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters?

I almost always go looking for lyrics that work. I don't usually bother naming chapters unless I'm really trying to use lyrics throughout. Sometimes though, I try for something pithy. If I can't find a good song or a pithy title that works, I usually just go for something basically descriptive.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)

Oh man, I dug into the archives for this one. This is a WIP that hasn't seen the light of day in ages, and that I'm never planning on finishing. I think I already started using it for spare parts because apparently this is from chapter 6, and I have absolutely no clue what was supposed to come before this. I also have no idea what I had planned as an actual plot. But this was supposed to be a MASH post-war reunion fic. I'll put it under the cut since this post is getting long.

Hawkeye slowly opens the door and calls out "Beej?"

The room is dark, but the light is on in the bathroom, and there's the damp scent of a recent shower and hotel soap. After looking around the room to make sure, Hawkeye gently knocks on the door. "Hey Beej, it's me and Father Mulcahy, can we come in?"

"I'm not really dressed for church." Hawkeye cringes, that wasn't even close to funny. But he gently pushes open the door and finds BJ sitting on the floor in his shorts and undershirt holding a razor and wearing half a mustache. He tries really, really hard not to laugh, but after letting in Father Mulcahy and seeing the look on his face, he just can't.

In no time, he's holding onto the edge of the sink in a futile attempt to keep himself upright because he's laughing so hard. He just keeps pointing and then miming a mustache on his own face while Mulcahy looks completely at a loss and BJ turns bright pink. It looks like he's trapped somewhere between joining in or punching something.

Mulcahy takes the plunge and asks, "What happened?"

"I thought I should get rid of it, but then I got halfway through and I couldn't recognize myself without it."

"I'm not sure half a mustache is going to do you much good."

Hawkeye realizes he's being left out of the conversation and stops laughing enough to open his eyes, free up his hands and contribute, "Remember that time when I did that to you in your sleep? I think it's perfect. You should keep it!"

Father Mulcahy adds, "Well, it is quite a showstopper."

At that, BJ gives in and starts laughing too. Then he catches a look at himself in the mirror and laughs again and again until he's crying too. Then he pulls Hawkeye and Father Mulcahy into an awkward hug as the laughter turns a little bit more into tears. He holds onto them loosely and somehow manages to get them all through the door and finally lets go in order to pull on his pants.

[ruby2stardust]

I need to gush about this series it's so good I have never gone from not knowing what something is to being hyperfixated so incredibly fast.

So Bocchi the Rock right? Yesterday I had no clue this series even existed. By the end of yesterday I had seen a few clips and heard a few people talking before watching one episode of it. Today I binged the other ten episodes and I am OBSESSED. This show had me rolling on the ground with laughter while simultaneously getting me invested in a story that normally I wouldn't find myself enjoying that much. So I'll just start from the beginning I guess this is a slice of life comedy show about social anxiety. I don't think I have to say much on that we all get it but the way it's portrayed here is just beyond words good. The presentation of this show is out of this world. It follows Hitori Gotoh a socially inept girl with a passion for playing guitar. She wants to start a band and get popular but just can't get herself out there. One day she brings her guitar into school hoping to get some attention to little success. However she is noticed by Nijika Ijichi who is just starting the Kessoku band and had her guitarist flake out on her five hours before a concert. Desoerate she drags Hitori along with her to join her band. It's a huge step for Hitori that she is not at all ready for and various shenanigans ensue from there. I could go on but this show is fantastic and I want people to watch it. I personally love how the show ties its drama and comedy together seamlessly. Whenever Hitori is stressed out about something the show goes wild changing up the animation style completely to represent her sudden panic attack which both puts you in her frame of mind and gets you to laugh.

My personal favorite is this one where the animation just rapidly devolves into simple 3d models for all of 4ish seconds while Hitori is hurled through a wall to represent her fear of an upcoming performance. It's something that I think a lot of people can relate to having to present to a ton of people is nerve wracking while also just being incredibly fun to watch and there's a different style change every single time this happens I never know what to expect next and it always catches me off guard and makes me laugh! The show also has an actual plot going for it it isn't all just jokes with no substance these characters develop throughout and they do it quickly enough for a character's growth in the season to be clear. It doesn't take Hitori 20 episodes to overcome every issue she faces. She's just honest and works on herself bit by bit with things coming full circle from the start to the end. It's the small details that really bring everything together here. Little things that keep popping up as the show goes on that develop Hitori and her relationship with her bandmates.

Also the opening song is super good I've been listening to it on repeat for literally like 6 hours.